Darwin, NT (21 March 2017) Demand for Darwin rental properties is booming, with leading property specialist, Raine & Horne Darwin finalising leases on more than 60 properties in February.

“This result follows 60 properties we leased to tenants in January,” said Glenn Grantham, General Manager, Raine & Horne Darwin.

“Consequently, rental yields for Darwin houses have improved and are currently 5.1%, which is the highest in Australia. The Darwin apartment market is also starting to pick up some pace.”

The Darwin rental market is still above the 2% vacancy rate sweet spot achieved a few years ago, with vacancies running at more than 7%.

“That said, the vacancy rate for properties managed by Raine & Horne Darwin is only 4%, which is well below the city’s average,” said Mr Grantham.

“Investors need to be sensible about presentation and pricing to ensure a vacant investment property is tenanted as quickly as possible. It seems our landlords are listening.”

Rental days-on-market have fallen to an average of about 32 days in Darwin, according to Mr Grantham.

“Vacancies are headed in the right direction, which is a good sign, however its means investors shouldn’t be complacent about pricing and presentation,” said Mr Grantham.

For first home buyers seeking to exit the rental treadmill, Raine & Horne Darwin recently held the launch of the Zuccoli Aspire[1] display village.

“There are 22 homes in the village making it the biggest display ever in the Northern Territory,” said Mr Grantham.

“We had 1,500 people visit the display village on Saturday 11 March, which was very impressive.

“Most of the interested parties were first home buyers and they visited the village to inspect the offerings of the 18 builders involved in the project, and to learn more about the land lots available at Zuccoli Aspire, which are selling for as cheaply as $135,000.

“Add the $26,000 First Home Owner Grant, and first timers may need as little as $109,000 of their own, or borrowed funds to secure a lot at Zuccoli Aspire.”

Darwin, NT (27 February 2017) After two consecutive quarters of strong sales activity, Darwin prices are set to head north, according to Glenn Grantham, General Manager, Raine & Horne Darwin.

“There was a bounce in buyer activity in the second half of 2016, which is contributing to a boost in the prices of quality, well-located properties in Darwin’s northern suburbs,” said Mr Grantham.

Desirable houses in Jingili, Karama and Anula, are attracting 30-40 groups to open homes, with many selling within 3 weeks of reaching the market, according to Mr Grantham.

“Historically when values in the northern suburbs improve, this creates a ripple effect that eventually flow south to Palmerston,” he said.

Mr Grantham said that while values in Darwin’s north will rise in the medium term, vendors with properties in the city and the south must be patient.

“Regardless of where you live, to cash-in on current market activity, a property must be well-presented and priced sensibly to sell,” said Mr Grantham.

Other hurdles to a swift sale might include rental properties with long-term tenants, which are not realising competitive yields.

“A Darwin property generating a gross yield of less than 4% will be harder to shift in the shorter-term,” said Mr Grantham.

“The bottom line is that properties with a few flies on them will be more difficult to sell now. However, when the momentum picks up across Darwin, they’ll wash through the market too.”

Owner-occupiers continue to dominate the Darwin market, although Mr Grantham said that interstate investors are increasingly among the buyers.

“We had a Sydney investor who wants to use his self-managed fund (SMSF) to buy a property worth $470,000 which will rent for $475 a week. This is a stronger return than Sydney real estate, or other asset classes such as cash and fixed interest,” he said.

“We have plenty of product in the Darwin market that will tick the boxes for investors from the Southern States.”

“This works out at roughly 2 a day, and we have strong demand from trades people, public and private sector workers moving to Darwin now for work,” said Mr Grantham.

There are several planned and committed infrastructure projects set to begin in Darwin including the $500 million upgrade of HMAS Coonawarra and Larrakeyah Barracks, and the $250 million Darwin Luxury Hotel development[i].